Few diagnoses are as frightening as learning you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, you’re likely to feel instant relief when you learn that your brain injury is mild. Most medical providers describe mild traumatic brain injuries as temporary and fully recoverable, but what if you notice persistent symptoms long after the initial trauma? Can a mild brain injury cause permanent problems?
In the event you sustained permanent injuries due to a traumatic brain injury, contact our Chicago brain injury lawyers from Smith LaCien LLP today for a free case consultation.
When a doctor diagnoses a mild TBI, they are most commonly referring to a concussion. Concussions usually occur from blunt force trauma to the head, including from sports injuries, falls, car accidents, and acts of violence. Concussions also result from a violent shake or jarring motion that causes the brain to bump against the inside of the skull.
Less commonly, a mild TBI diagnosis could refer to small contusions, petechial hemorrhage, or a small, localized subdural hematoma.
According to medical research studies, mild concussions, or those with a Glasgow Coma Scale of ≥ 13, are the most common TBI diagnosis, especially in contact sports injuries.
It’s crucial to have a thorough medical evaluation after any head injury. This not only ensures that you receive the medical care you need if you’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury, but also documents evidence that the injury occurred in the accident or incident as you claim.
Common symptoms associated with mild traumatic brain injuries include the following:
Your medical test results and medical report are often key evidence in a personal injury claim if the TBI resulted from someone else’s negligence, such as in a car accident or a preventable slip-and-fall injury on commercial property.
The Mayo Clinic describes persistent symptoms of a concussion past the typical time that symptoms should resolve, or at least three months, as Post-Concussion Syndrome. Common long-term effects seen in post-concussion syndrome include:
The duration of post-concussion syndrome varies between individual sufferers. This is due to the wide range of differences in neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to form new pathways around damaged areas.
While there is no real “cure” for post-concussion syndrome, most injury victims manage the condition with medications, including migraine medications, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications.
When an individual suffers repeated concussions, most commonly seen in contact sports players, the effects of the concussion may be more serious and more prolonged for each repeated mild traumatic brain injury. Each concussion requires significant cellular energy within the brain to repair damage. Subsequent injuries build on the damage with a cumulative effect.
Repeated concussions may cause permanent problems with mood, cognition, memory, and concentration. In addition, repeated mild traumatic brain injuries are associated with a late-life neurodegenerative disease with symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s disease.
"*" indicates required fields